FONAR Corporation (NASDAQ-FONAR), The Inventor of MR Scanning™, announced today that a provider of outpatient diagnostic services (a FONAR customer) and several Stand-Up MRI diagnostic imaging professional corporations (PCs) received a jury verdict in their favor in an antitrust lawsuit against CareCore National, LLC, a radiology benefits management (RBM) company. This antitrust lawsuit involved CareCore National’s exclusion of the plaintiffs, all of them providers of MRI services using Stand-Up MRI scanners, from utilization by its member subscribers. CareCore Radiology, a division of CareCore National, covers more than 30 mil-lion member subscribers in all 50 states.

The diagnostic service provider and the PCs were represented by Constantine Cannon LLP, New York, NY. After more than a two-week trial, the verdict was reached November 30, 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The case is Stand-Up MRI v. CareCore National, E.D.N.Y. Case No: 08 Civ. 2954 (LDW) (ETB). Lead Constantine Cannon trial attorney Matthew Cantor said: "This verdict is not just important for my clients, but for patients everywhere. The evidence in this case showed that even CareCore considered the Upright MRI to be medically necessary and that, nonetheless, CareCore and its owners denied patients the ability to benefit from these important diagnostic procedures. The actions of benefits managers (RBMs) that are owned and controlled by physicians, like CareCore, must be scrutinized to ensure that patient welfare is not compromised.” The jury found that CareCore, in league with New York-area radiologists and radiology practices that owned and/or governed CareCore, conspired to unreasonably restrain trade in the market for commercially-insured outpatient radiology procedures. The jury also found that these restraints harmed the plaintiffs -- several New York radiology practices and their medical management company -- that offer unique and medically necessary Upright MRI services.

The Upright MRI is the only MRI that can scan patients in the weight-bearing positions that patients actually feel their pain. By doing so, Upright MRIs diagnose patient ailments, especially those related to the spine, that no other MRI can,” said Cantor.

For more information, or sample cases, call East Bay Upright MRI today at 510-259-1555!